David Coverdale was a guest on US syndicated radio show In The Studio on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the eponymous ’87 album, The conversation meandered far enough to touch his departure from Purple and management problems of the early Whitesnake days. You can listen to it online at In The Studio’s website (requires flash player).

Some time last year he also gave an interview to German TV, where he talks about his connection to that country, says ‘hi’ to his granddaughters, and speaks how the reunion with Bernie Marsden came together. You can watch the interview at rheinraus.com.

Thanks to Blabbermouth and Daniel Bengtsson for the info.

Pearl Drums will launch Ian Paice signature drum kit on April 23, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Machine Head UK release. The kit will feature nine drums, including Masters Premium Legend Maple toms and bass drum, with the signature snare. All drums will feature “unique motif” inside and some will come in sizes unique to Ian’s kit, the same way as Pearl makes them for him, not available anywhere else in the world. As well as a standard front head, the kits will come supplied with a specially designed front bass drum head, which can be fitted to the kit or wall-mounted. Each set will come with a head signed by Paice, dedicated to the individual customer. Every kit will come tuned to Paice’s personal specification as well.

This will be a very limited edition as only 12 kits will be produced. The kits will be unveiled at the Drumwright in UK. The twelve customers who buy one of these sets will also be invited to a private dinner with Paice at The Crooked Billet in Henley-on-Thames, UK.

To get a free ticket to the launch, send an email headed “IP Launch” together with your name and address to enquiries@drumwright.co.uk.

Thanks to Music Instrument Professional and Drumwright for the info.

The Live at Montreux 2011 is about to be released on vinyl by a small label called Night of the Vinyl Dead. The release will be a limited edition, hand numbered to 500 copies, triple purple glitter vinyl in flip top opening cover and inner sleeves (that’s a lot of bells and whistles). The material will be identical to one previously released on CD through Eagle Records.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Guitar World has a lengty interview with Glenn Hughes, where he talks about everything from his humble beginning as a trombonist in a school orchestra, to Deep Purple, to Black Country Communion, to the late Gary Moore.

Would you say you were the driving force behind Deep Purple’s groovier sound in the mid-’70s?

That’s a great question — but no one put a gun to my head telling me to be me. I mean, if you study those records, like Burn [1974], which was where David Coverdale and I came in, replacing Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, we were brand new, fresh, living in this castle, writing the album. We’re getting along really well, as Ritchie Blackmore does with every new member that comes in -– he’s a great guy. The album was more what you would consider to be rock-focused and Deep Purple-sounding, with its majestic keyboards and Blackmore’s insane guitar playing.

But when Stormbringer [1974] was being written at that same castle, Ritchie didn’t come in with any songs. He came with only one track, one idea. So it was left up to David, John and myself to come up with the goods, if you will. And we started to write things that were groovier, more melodic. I really liked the direction of Stormbringer, but left to my own devices, I’m gonna be — you know — left to my own devices. I think it would’ve been silly for David and me to come into Deep Purple and ape Ian and Roger. It would have been pointless.

Am I the man who killed Deep Purple? I don’t think so. I think every band from that era, even if you look at Led Zeppelin, if you look at their first four albums, they’re extremely different from one another, and I’ve never made the same album twice. There are other artists who I shan’t mention — all good friends of mine — who have this one-dimensional sound, and it really works for them.

For me? I’m not driven by the mighty dollar. I’m driven by the artistic form of writing music that is different from the last album, while still keeping a focus on what the general direction should be. I don’t take responsibility for Blackmore leaving Deep Purple because of the music I was writing. If you look at the annals of Deep Purple, you’ll notice that Blackmore, every second or third album, would like to change the vocalist anyway.

When you listen to those albums, including Come Taste the Band [1975], you’ll notice they’re very much three different albums because, if you’re between 18 and 25, that’s when you’re really growing musically and spiritually, and I’m proud of what I’ve done. I’ve never been a one-dimensional rock artist. I can’t help myself.

Read more in Guitar World.

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

Jeb Wright did an interview with Steve Morse for Classic Rock Revisited. In this lengthy interview, Steve talks about Flying Colors, Purple, and his obsession with Native American art.

Jeb: You are not an egomaniac musician and neither is Neal Morse. Did that make the process of having all that creativity manageable?

Steve: I certainly appreciated it and I really respected the amount of talent that everyone has, that’s for sure. I’ve gotten a little bit spoiled by always getting to work with great musicians. What really blew me away was the writing process. I was spewing out ideas and so were they, and nobody had a chance to get a word in edgewise. I was actually struggling to keep up. I really think this is one of the favorite albums I have ever been involved in.

Regarding Purple:

Jeb: Do you see your career, at some point in the future, going away from Deep Purple and more into the area of Flying Colors?

Steve: Yes, I definitely do. I don’t think Deep Purple can keep up the level of touring that we do, forever. I have always pushed them, sometimes too hard, for some control in the scheduling so that I can book stuff when there is a touring gap.

The problem I keep running into is that when a gap becomes available, then it is too late to book the dates for my solo stuff. I don’t find out about the dates being totally open until pretty late in the game. That is my only complaint with Deep Purple; I wish I had more control over the schedule. I think it is naturally going to slow down, somewhat.

Jeb: I hear a new Deep Purple album is on the way.

Steve: There is one coming up. The way we do it is that we record some ideas without vocals and then we present the ideas to Ian [Gillan]. There is more writing sessions scheduled in May, and then we will start recording in June and July.

There is a lot more where this came from.

Ian Paice will appear at the Musikmesse this year during the signing session(s) organized by Paiste (his cymbal company). The sessions are scheduled for

• Friday, March 23rd – 12:00
• Friday, March 23rd – 14:00
• Saturday, March 24th – 12:00
• Saturday, March 24th – 15.00

When exactly he will appear has not been announced. The other drummers to appear at the sessions are Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Felix Bohnke (Edguy), Mikkey Dee (Motörhead), Curt Bisquera (Sarah McLachlan), and Paul Stanley McKenzie (Gorillaz Sound System).

Musikmesse runs from March 21st to 24th at the Messe Frankfurt in Germany.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

The Learn To Play Day is a British national event taking place on March 31. The event will include free musical lessons to the public and “is designed to welcome people into music shops and to inspire them to get playing”. The event will take place in music shops across the UK. Ian Paice is confirmed to appear at the Drumwright in Reading to lend an expert hand.

Being given the gift of being able to create music is an incredible thing and most people don’t allow themselves this pleasure. That’s a shame. Try it, you could just make your life a whole lot more fun.

Drumwright is located at:

Loddon Vale Centre
Woodley, Reading, Wokingham RG5 4UL
UK

Thanks to Dave Hodgkinson and Music Radar for the info.

Glenn Hughes will do a tour of Latin America late April/early May as a part of the package billed under the moniker Rock’N’Roll Allstars. Other names on the bill include Gene Simmons (Kiss), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan and Gilby Clarke (all three of Guns N’Roses fame), Ed Roland (Collective Soul), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Mike Inez (Alice in Chains), and Billy Duffy (The Cult).

Full details in our calendar.

Update [Mar 7]: The South American promoter Premier Producciones has leaked tentative setlist for the show:

Duff McKagan – ‘It’s So Easy’
Sebastian Bach – ‘Welcome to the Jungle’
Sebastian Bach – ‘I Remember You’
Sebastian Bach – ‘Youth Gone Wild’
Sebastian Bach – ‘Whole Lotta Love’
Sebastian Bach – ‘Crazy Train’
Glenn Hughes – ‘Highway Star’
Glenn Hughes – ‘Burn’
Glenn Hughes – ‘Smoke on the Water’
Glenn Hughes – ‘Firewoman’
Glenn Hughes – ‘Wildflower’
Ed Roland – ‘Shine’
Ed Roland – ‘Rebel Yell’
Ed Roland – ‘Man in a Box’ w/ Glenn Hughes
Gilby Clarke – ‘Knockin’ on Heavens Door’
Joe Elliott – ‘Animal’
Joe Elliott – ‘All the Young Dudes’
Joe Elliott – ‘Sugar’
Joe Elliott – ‘Tie Your Mother Down’
Gene Simmons – ‘Deuce’
Gene Simmons – ‘Doctor Love’
Gene Simmons – ‘I Love it Loud’
Gene Simmons – ‘Cold Gin’
TBD – ‘Paradise City’
Gene Simmons – ‘Rock and Roll All Night’

Thanks to BraveWords and Loudwire for the info.

The Canadian tour is over and truly yours had a chance to attend a few shows with a camera. Here are the results:

• Civic Centre, Ottawa, February 8, 2012
• K-Rock Centre, Kingston, February 9, 2012
• John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario, February 11, 2012
• Massey Hall, Toronto, February 12, 2012

These will also enter rotation on our front page.

An honourable mention also goes to Monster Truck, fun Canadian band, who opened up for Purple on select Ontario dates.

Many thanks to RG for fixing up photo permits. No thanks to the “suit” at K-Rock Centre.

Flying Colors have published a first batch of Steve Morse’s answers to fan questions submitted through their Facebook page:

Steve, are there any young guitar players who you particularly like? I mean we all know what your influences are but is there any new name that has caught your attention lately?

I’m not sure how young any of them are, but have recently enjoyed more visibility: Alexi Laiho, Guthrie Govan, Gus G, Corey from Jason and Massive Attraction (we just had them open up for us), and about a million others that are so good that I don’t have their names readily at hand. The list of guys that I know have been around for a long time and are great, is huge, too!

Read more on flyingcolorsmusic.com

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.